02:33 - VIGJust sayin' I remember nikarg's Sodom review on the front page, that album was like 30 years old

02:27 - ScreamingSteelUSTechnically, Che's Manunkind review was too old to be featured on the front page. That was a special exception; usually, we prefer to keep our reviews within three-to-four months, with six months as an absolute cutoff.

02:14 - VIG@Radu Of course! I don't think it's too old to be featured on the front page. Look at Che's Manunkind review

00:09 - RaduPPublished a review for an album that's a bit too old to be featured on the front page, but you guys will read it, right? [link]

Original post

There it is, I said it. I don't like it any more than any of you but you know its crossed your mind. I think the last straw was Ensiferum's latest release Unsung Heroes. Or was it Eluveitie's Helvetos? ...Or maybe it was the most terrible release to be associated with Folk Metal yet... Turisas2013?

I can't say exactly when the decline began but folk metal seemed to reach a pinnacle around 2008. That was the first year of US Paganfest, when Ensiferum, Eluveitie and Turisas toured together across the states. At the same time bands like Moonsorrow, Finntroll and Korpiklaani were also nearing the height of mainstream metal success while maintaining integrity. These bands could arguably be regarded as "The Big 6" of Folk Metal.

Around this time many bands across Europe started hopping on the Folk Bandwagon. The labels capitalized on this and within a few years every half decent folk band in the EU had a record deal and a touring slot, flooding the genre mostly with mediocrity.

Now fast forward to 2014 and alas, "The Big 6" is crumbling. Sure, Moonsorrow and Finntroll are still cherished by many but that's only 2 of 6.. Meanwhile the 2nd generation folk bands are simply not up to par to fill their places of the pioneers of the genre, causing folk metal to hit a dead end..

And if you don't believe me yet, then here is an 2013 interview with Sami Hinkka from Ensiferum talking about how the folk metal genre will decline: @ 2:00 min http://metalstorm.net/pub/interview.php?interview_id=676

But what do you guys think? Is Folk Metal failing or am I just exaggerating?

IMO what the genre needs is a breath of fresh air, a new direction, a new influence.

Personally I would like to see folk influence from outside Europe be weaved into the genre. Eniferum made an interesting nod to American western folk in their song "Stone Cold Metal" and some other bands on the outskirts of the genre are starting to move towards Asiatic folk such as: Whispered, Wintersun and Damnation Angels. Hopefully this trend continues and spreads.

I believe the genre is growing. It seems that when the words "folk metal" are spoken, people only think about german/scandinavian folk metal. But other folk scenes have been rising, such as asian, south american, slavic... The Tengger Cavalry post above is an example.
But as ppl only seem to care about the mainstream bands like Ensiferum, Turisas, Eluveitie, Ensiferum, Turisas, Eluveitie... Then they say that the genre is stagnated. But it isn't. It's actually far more diverse and inspired than it was about 10 years ago.

On my view it also happens with other genres a well. If I say to an average "metalhead" that I like black metal he will ask about bands like Dark Funeral, Marduk, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth... All of them being the most uninspired and bland sounding on their subgenres... Thus on my view, being the shittiest among them.
More generally if you speak to one that you like metal he'll assume you like bands such as Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin, Blind Guardian Metallica... Again all lacking originality when compared to the others on the genre.
(Here fanboys pop up and defend the bands I cited with all their might)

But i have a theory: I think most "metalheads" prefer those bands exactly because they are bland... average... normal... Most people enjoy normal things and avoid leaving the usual. That's also why many people prefer to keep just following the same bands' progress instead of looking for new ones. They don't want to leave their normal routine.

On my view it also happens with other genres a well. If I say to an average "metalhead" that I like black metal he will ask about bands like Dark Funeral, Marduk, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth... All of them being the most uninspired and bland sounding on their subgenres... Thus on my view, being the shittiest among them.
More generally if you speak to one that you like metal he'll assume you like bands such as Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin, Blind Guardian Metallica... Again all lacking originality when compared to the others on the genre.
(Here fanboys pop up and defend the bands I cited with all their might)

But i have a theory: I think most "metalheads" prefer those bands exactly because they are bland... average... normal... Most people enjoy normal things and avoid leaving the usual. That's also why many people prefer to keep just following the same bands' progress instead of looking for new ones. They don't want to leave their normal routine.

Did you really just claim these bands lack originality? Many of these bands are pioneers of either metal as a whole or specific metal subgenres, which is about the most "original" thing a band can do. If you don't like these bands then fine, but you should at least be respectful of them laying the foundations of metal for others to build off of.

Second, there are a reason why these bands got popular in the first place, they all released great albums at one point and are all exceptional at their instruments. Many recent releases from these bands are terrible, as I state in the original post of this thread and yet many still follow the bands, and yes that is annoying but you shouldn't negate a band's entire discography because of one shitty album.

Third, just because some of us like mainstream bands doesn't mean we limit our tastes to only popular bands. I listen to some music that's very underground and some very mainstream, it's a matter of taste not whats spoonfed and as you can see in my post, Whispered is not all that mainstream and Damnation Angels barely on the radar(14 fans here). I've already stated I'd like to see bands branch out with new influences like Ensiferum's Stone Cold Metal which is music unlike anyone has done in any metal genre so far(that I know of at least). Also I stated that i've searched for bands in folk and haven't found anything truly satisfactory, most just sound like Ensiferum copy bands to me. so instead of attacking others why not state your opinion in a more constructive way and suggest bands that may counter my point rather than just bash like an upset post-hipster.

More generally if you speak to one that you like metal he'll assume you like bands such as Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin, Blind Guardian Metallica... Again all lacking originality when compared to the others on the genre.
(Here fanboys pop up and defend the bands I cited with all their might)

When those bands came out, they weren't bland or uninspired.In fact they were very innovative and pioneering in their time .
You can't look at the impact those bands had from a 2014 perspective.
(Made some analogy with technical airship language that I have absolute zero knowledge about)

Well, we're hearing music at 2014. So when I stated "bland, lacking originality" it was indeed on a 2014 perspective. Famous bands which started very well and now have a vast discography have the tendency to release worse and worse album on the more recent years. They released good albums on the past, yeah... But hearing their recent work which is released on the downfall of their career and saying that the whole scene is degrading doesn't seem very fair... To speak for what the scene is like nowadays I think you must compare it with 2014 albums.

But i have a theory: I think most "metalheads" prefer those bands exactly because they are bland... average... normal... Most people enjoy normal things and avoid leaving the usual. That's also why many people prefer to keep just following the same bands' progress instead of looking for new ones. They don't want to leave their normal routine.

I won't deny that is what some of us are about. Certainly I couldn't care less about experimenting and I get the most joy from cranking old school stuff.
However people listen to music for different reasons.
And the reason people start with Metallica, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin etc etc is because they are the most famous.
Thus people hear about them first and get into them first.
They then chose their level of immersion - some people go nuts for underground or new stuff or focus on a single genre, others get hooked on older stuff and some just listen to the mainstream stuff.
Nothing wrong with any of this.

Yeah I just stated what I observed. I also think that there's nothing wrong with liking normal stuff.

Did you really just claim these bands lack originality? Many of these bands are pioneers of either metal as a whole or specific metal subgenres, which is about the most "original" thing a band can do. If you don't like these bands then fine, but you should at least be respectful of them laying the foundations of metal for others to build off of.
Second, there are a reason why these bands got popular in the first place, they all released great albums at one point and are all exceptional at their instruments. Many recent releases from these bands are terrible, as I state in the original post of this thread and yet many still follow the bands, and yes that is annoying but you shouldn't negate a band's entire discography because of one shitty album.
Third, just because some of us like mainstream bands doesn't mean we limit our tastes to only popular bands. I listen to some music that's very underground and some very mainstream, it's a matter of taste not whats spoonfed and as you can see in my post, Whispered is not all that mainstream and Damnation Angels barely on the radar(14 fans here). I've already stated I'd like to see bands branch out with new influences like Ensiferum's Stone Cold Metal which is music unlike anyone has done in any metal genre so far(that I know of at least). Also I stated that i've searched for bands in folk and haven't found anything truly satisfactory, most just sound like Ensiferum copy bands to me. so instead of attacking others why not state your opinion in a more constructive way and suggest bands that may counter my point rather than just bash like an upset post-hipster.

If you look on my post I just said they sound bad on my view. It's a matter of opinion. And I can present my respect wishes to the pioneer bands from a far distance, without having to listen to them. =P
And yeah, I'm aware that some people don't limit themselves, specially here on this site. That's why I said words like "most" instead of "every".
Also, I was not bashing the bands o_O, I was just saying what I observed: Most (not every) people stick to those same bands. I also said that I don't like them at all, but if you think some of them are awesome then that's okay.

On my view it also happens with other genres a well. If I say to an average "metalhead" that I like black metal he will ask about bands like Dark Funeral, Marduk, Dimmu Borgir, Behemoth... All of them being the most uninspired and bland sounding on their subgenres... Thus on my view, being the shittiest among them.
More generally if you speak to one that you like metal he'll assume you like bands such as Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin, Blind Guardian Metallica... Again all lacking originality when compared to the others on the genre.
(Here fanboys pop up and defend the bands I cited with all their might)

But i have a theory: I think most "metalheads" prefer those bands exactly because they are bland... average... normal... Most people enjoy normal things and avoid leaving the usual. That's also why many people prefer to keep just following the same bands' progress instead of looking for new ones. They don't want to leave their normal routine.

agree

....Deadone is just trying to justify himself because he is in denial of being one of the people your talking about when you said.............. " I think most "metalheads" prefer those bands exactly because they are bland... average... normal... Most people enjoy normal things and avoid leaving the usual. That's also why many people prefer to keep just following the same bands' progress instead of looking for new ones. They don't want to leave their normal routine. "

Can we please keep at least one thread on track these days? As Cynic has stated, this thread is about the decline of folk metal. If you want to discuss the downfall of metal as a whole, create a new thread and discuss the matter there.

I'm not sure it's dying. Perhaps it's just having an identity crisis as the pioneers of the genre hit a rough patch? If it were truly in decline, it wouldn't be continuing to spread outside of just northern Europe. I fully expect that in the next few years we'll see some newcomers emerge out of somewhere like Asia or North America that'll blow us all away.

For some reason it seems to be getting weirdly popular around my neck of the woods, both in that there are fans who are into it as well as musicians influenced by the well-established acts forming bands. I've heard a few Canadian bands, for example, that weren't bad (Vesperia, Trollband, Blackguard). Scythia (also Canadian) are also pretty fun. Saw them live a little while ago. They're also very nice if you get a chance to meet them.

----
And I shall not be dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair

If it were truly in decline, it wouldn't be continuing to spread outside of just northern Europe.

Exactly. Yeah, it sucks that the pioneers seem to be less than they were, but that does not mean the genre's going anywhere. There are new bands in it that have their own style and some that carry on (Eluveitie, Equilibrium, Metsatoll. Disagree all you want. I think they show remarkable consistency.)

And yes, Blackguard are extremely nice in person. Paul will talk you ear off. I'm not sure that they are Folk metal at this point, though it would be nice if Victory Records would let Storm out of the box already so we could find out. Emilie Livernois was in studio, after all, so we know it's not the same as Firefight which I could not call folk.

Edit: I just listened to all the bands named in this thread that were new to me. All are pretty good. Trollband and Scythia were especially good.

If it were truly in decline, it wouldn't be continuing to spread outside of just northern Europe.

Exactly. Yeah, it sucks that the pioneers seem to be less than they were, but that does not mean the genre's going anywhere. There are new bands in it that have their own style and some that carry on (Eluveitie, Equilibrium, Metsatoll. Disagree all you want. I think they show remarkable consistency.)

And yes, Blackguard are extremely nice in person. Paul will talk you ear off. I'm not sure that they are Folk metal at this point, though it would be nice if Victory Records would let Storm out of the box already so we could find out. Emilie Livernois was in studio, after all, so we know it's not the same as Firefight which I could not call folk.

Edit: I just listened to all the bands named in this thread that were new to me. All are pretty good. Trollband and Scythia were especially good.

No disagreement at all here. I love Eluveitie! And Metsatoll were great when I saw them in the fall. Got a set list as a souvenir.

Trollband were actually better live I found. I didn't get to talk to everyone in Scythia, but their bass player seems quite nice. He let me take a photo with him in his stage costume after the show, which was a lot of fun (I hope their new album makes them a bigger name. They're just now doing their first tour outside of Canada I think).

----
And I shall not be dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair